well I agree but I think your missing the point of my question lol. I honestly want to be non confronting but the queation is, is it just as bad killing a gold fish as a dog? I want to explain that question, and the only reason I ask it is because everyone hear loves animals and I'm curious if you are all hard core animal lovers, because in order to a have a true perfect love of animals and be consistent you would have hold each animal in the same respect, not that you like one over the other but that it would be just as haynes as the other. I'm okay with people's opinions we all have them so it's cool if your hard core okay if not okay I just don't get to ask this question so I thought I would

I think all life is worthy of respect. I would never flush a goldfish down the toilet. While I respect all life, I am not comfortable with all animal life. As much as I have tried, I am not comfortable with snakes & spiders, neither am I comfortable with roaches & DO NOT want them in my house!!! I will stomp them! They can live under my house, or in the hollow tree, but thats it! So, I guess where roaches are concerned, I'm a hypocrite. I don't want field mice in my house either, but I do think they are just too cute! I'm not totally apposed to hunting, I get the conservation concept, & know that many depend on hunting to put meat on the table. My attitude is, if you kill it & won't eat it, find someone who will! I couldn't pull the trigger, but my hubby & son can & do from time to time. So, I guess I'm not a total nut case, but am a big fan of animals.

Okay thanks, that sounds allot like me than, I was just a curious what people thought. I didn't want to be that black sheep of the board, it's nice to see that people have a good balance it makes life easier Not that I don't respect other people's extreme opinions I just believe in a good balance. I really do love animals ever since I was a little kid I have and that won't ever change. I think a job working around animals would be great, even a zoo........but I know what those guys have to do so I don't think that's for me. If any body knows of a good animal job just let me know, who knows Anyway thanks for answering my question.

We are way off topic here, but roaches may count too.... The first time I posted on here (arborists....) I got some pretty interesting responces. So many people seemed surprised that an arborist (tree worker, for lack of a better term) would put so much thought into the natural world around them. On the contrary our primary goal as arborists consists of tree preservation, and education. These squirrels play an immensely important role in the ecology of natural native tree species. So while it is true I may cut down many trees, it is always for a good reson. And I can promise that for every tree I cut down thee is 50 more I work toward saving. So why is it that a tree is removed you might ask? Answer: It has been determined that it poses more of a risk than a benefit if it is left standing due to some defect, or death of the plant. It has contracted a biotic disorder that will result in death and is UNTREATABLE. Or (and we are begining to get back to the roach question with this one...) it is an invasive speciese that will eventually cause the native tree speciese to suffer or die which could lead to inumerable othe specieces of plants and animals to strugle and die also. And yes unfortunately there is an occasional Flying Squirrel nest in one of these plants which needs to be removed. But I do not feel I am not an exception to the rule when it comes to Oak Men (another word for Arborist) who work to save the little fellows which make there home in these trees. As a matter of fact most if not all of the true Oak Men (Arborists) I have met do there utmost to preserve these marvelouse animals. But this is a topic best saved for another time.... Back to the roach thing: The vast majority of roaches are non-invasive, and do a lot of good for the ecology where they live. It is only a few NON NATIVE species that are harmful. So while I do agree that we should do our utmost to keep these few bad guys to a minimum I also feel like roaches get a pretty bad rap. Many foreign cultures would welcome some of these amazing animals into there homes. Some of them are a great clean up crew! And who out there knew that mantids are basically just roaches which have evolved to eat other insects... All species are good in there proper place. The preblem too often is that man comes along and takes them out of that place (usually inadvertantly) and they become a problem. This could be true of our Flying Squjirrels also if they managed to form a breading population in an area where there was not a sutable prey species.... So (and I realise I am being WAY too long windewd here) I should mention that I used to be a strict vegatarian. Then some person who was far smarter than myself posed the question to me "who would take cae of the cows if we stopped eating them...." It's worth thinking about.

Aw ours and every ones friend La Cucaracha I had no intentions of going into the forest and exterminating the tree roach I was referring to the common house roach...you know the one that comes out at night scares your cats and eats your children As I am not familiar with the different types of roaches, I do believe you about the roaches that some are good for the planet. Some foreign country's also believe that there ancestors are rats and worship the rats. Let me tell you that worshiping roaches and letting them in your house is a bit eccentric, and as far as I'm concerned if ANY roach walked up to my door and asked if they could come in and stay awhile I would receive them with a warm smile and a cold glass of boric acid. As for being off topic, this sort of thing happens from time to time, other wise at times we would always be posting new threads, so the start of the thread is not always what's at the bottom of the thread. But yes to get "back on topic" I think only trying it would allow someone to find out if putting chipmunks and flying squirrels together would work or not, I've never heard of it being done before I think if you had a big out door cage it mite work would. It's an interesting mixture of animals.

Everyone including me felt that you where very concerned about hte well being if the flyers and being an angel for helping the poor homeless squirrel folk find a good home.....or at least a good dumpster Keep up the good work, I believe that what you do is normally a good thing, and I understand that working for someone who doesn't always allow you to cut down only the trees you think should be cut down, means that once in a while you have to cut one down you don't think should be. We continue to look forward to your posts Have a wonderful Roach filled day

Good move Joan! Me thinks I may be in large part responsible for the diversion. While most of the discussion has been fun, it did take on a life of its own & probably belongs in an "off topic" forum.

Hi natecary, I sure wish the "oakmen" around here thought like you!!! Unfortunately most are not trained "arborist", just good ole boys lookin for work. For the native species their work is often negative.

Okay I'm cool with that, if that topic ends up going anywhere it would be nice to have it left aside from a nature debate

I agree, most of the tree men I don't really stop and think about all of the trees there are cutting down, I wouldn't say that they go out of there way to conserve others like this one guy, I guess I don't really know

violetlady wrote:Good move Joan! Me thinks I may be in large part responsible for the diversion. While most of the discussion has been fun, it did take on a life of its own & probably belongs in an "off topic" forum.

Hi natecary, I sure wish the "oakmen" around here thought like you!!! Unfortunately most are not trained "arborist", just good ole boys lookin for work. For the native species their work is often negative.

Amen. That is why we work so hard to educate the general public. It is so that thee is a recognised defference between ISA certified Arborists (Oak Men) and the guys out there that just do it because they can't make a descent living doing anything else (Yuk Men...) There are definate guide lines set by ICA and the Arboicultural comunity in general that the true oak men will not break. Unfortunately most people do not know if you did a good job on there trees or not. They just know that nothing got broken and everything is cleaned up nice. And since there is no gocerning body cencerning who can or can do "tree work" we end up getting underbid OFTEN by individuals who really could not tell one species from the nex, let alone how to properly treat them...

Most people are too busy in life to really notice the tree's around them and know how to treat them, and they don't want anything to get damaged because tree's can be dangerous if not cut down properly. I see what you mean by (Yuk men) and I agree, that's the kind of the thing I thought of when I thought of (Oak men) but I see that you guys are more about control and about the better good than just getting rid of trees to build a mall or something such as that. You put allot of thought and concern into your currier. Someone needs to take concern in our forests and to take a proper care of the their well being.

I've actually been doing alot of thinking on this and similar subjects lately. I feel like everyone is a hypocrite to some degree when it comes to this sort of thing, unless you're a Jadist, and I doubt any of us are, hehe.The one thing that struck me, was the realization that I wouldnt shoot a deer or kill a dog for the same reason I registered as a conscientious objector when i turned 18. The thought of taking another life in that manner, is very simply repulsing.I didnt used to be apposed to hunting, when i was younger. I even thought i might like to try it some time, but when I thought about the morale implications of taking another life, be it Deer or Human, it turned me off entirely. Just my two cents, for whatever its worth.(Fun fact: Pennies are worth less than the cost of their own production!)